Favre: Pack Should Let Me Play Elsewhere

Hey guys, a lot of recycled quotes in this one but it pretty much lets you know how Brett feels.

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Brett Favre finally is speaking for himself: He wants to play but doesn’t feel welcome in Green Bay, so he’s asking to be released.

The quarterback’s first substantial comments on his latest retirement decision reversal come in an interview with Fox News on “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.”

“I am guilty of retiring early and there is a reason for that,” Favre said, according to an excerpt provided to The Associated Press before the Monday night broadcast. “And the major issue is ‘Why did he retire?,’ and ‘He asked for a release because he doesn’t want to play in Green Bay.’ That’s not true. And I hope people are hearing this and saying ‘OK, that clears it up.”’

According to Van Susteren, who spoke to the AP by telephone Monday afternoon, Favre said he was “never fully committed” to retiring and felt pressured by the Packers to make a decision, a notion Packers general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy tried to dispel in an interview with the AP on Saturday.

Favre told Fox he understands that the Packers want to move on—but if they’re doing so, they should let him go.
In this Dec. 21, 2006 file photo, Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre waves to spectators as he leaves the field following the Packers' 9-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings during an NFL football game in Green Bay, Wis. The Green Bay Packers' general manager and coach don't plan to grant Brett Favre's request for his release. If he does rejoin the team, they told The Associated Press, it won't be as the starting quarterback.

“Them moving on does not bother me,” Favre said. “It doesn’t. I totally understand that. By me retiring March 3rd, I knew that could possibly happen. All I was saying is, you know, I’m thinking about playing again.”

Van Susteren, who is from Appleton, Wis., and is a Packers shareholder, said Favre made it clear he would not return to the Packers if he wasn’t the starter. And while Favre said the Packers asked him for a list of teams to which he would accept a trade, he wants to be released to make sure he ends up on a competitive club.

Thompson said the team wasn’t going to release Favre, but he could come back in a “different role than he was” because the team is committed to going forward with Aaron Rodgers.

Thompson and Packers coach Mike McCarthy wouldn’t discuss the possibility of trading Favre and said they hadn’t received any trade inquiries as of Saturday.

Thompson and McCarthy gave AP a detailed description of their dealings with Favre throughout the offseason, including an episode a few weeks after Favre’s retirement where the two were prepared to fly to Mississippi to seal the deal on a Favre comeback—only to have the quarterback change his mind again.

Favre’s interview—which was receiving top billing over an interview with John McCain in promos for Van Susteren’s show that aired during the day Monday— is the latest development in what is looking more and more like an irreparable schism between one of the NFL’s most revered franchises and perhaps its most beloved quarterback.

Thompson called the situation “gut-wrenching” Saturday.

“I mean, it hurts,” he said. “I’m not talking about physically hurting, but the sensitivity. We understand where the fans are coming from. This is a hot-button issue that surpasses anything I’ve ever gone through.”

I kind of understand Favre's point of view now and it's nice to hear he's not upset at the Packers for wanting to move on. I hope personally that Favre does come back to the Packers not just because he gives us the best chance to win as starter, and he could retire with another Super Bowl ring but because it would also avoid all the "gut-wrenching" of Favre playing on another team.

The problem is he feels he "was not wanted", not whther or not he is comfortable with the Packers moving in a new direction.

Not wanted? Sounds to me like the words and actions of TT and MM were those of a team wanting their QB back.....only to have the fickle Favre shoo them away. Before and after the retirement announcement, he was contacted and informed he wass part of the plan for 2008, or could be if his early post-retirement feelings were valid.

Do I wish he was our QB for 2008? Sure. But how do you read/analyze his back and forth....can you count on the guy? That is where the doubt lies, and what I am sure makes TT and MM question the whole mess.

First, Brett says he felt pressured to GIVE AN ANSWER but did not say that he felt TT or the organization did NOT WANT HIM BACK. Personally, I would think he would understand any organization would want to know what their starting QB intends to do as soon as possible. Brett knows that. Why would there be anymore pressure NOW when they just had a great year and everybody thought his answer would be to return vs. years past when many more thought he was done?

Secondly, Brett seems very understanding about the Packers desire to move on and understands that was a possibility when he announced his retirement and yet when he makes it known he wants to come back it's in the form of a demand that he be the starter.

I find that very curious. I also find it contradicting. I get the feeling Brett is grasping for answers himself regarding the decisons he made and when he made them.
There's too many statements here that don't add up to someone with a lot of clarity in their thinking.

In the end it's a huge mess and nobody knows the full details. The fact that it's come out in this fashion makes it a lot more difficult for everyone, except for Sports News Organizations and Journalists.

We had a situation in a group I belong to where two of the main leaders had a huge blowup fight and both decided to leave. What eventually happened was me and the other leader (there's 4 of us leading the group) got all of us to sit down and talk it through to really see where people stand. In my opinion that's what needs to happen. None of the text-messaging, conference phone calls, speaking through friends/family, etc. Favre, his agent, and the Packer's Management including McCarthy need to sit down, face-to-face, and really discuss what's going to happen because at this point it seems everyone is speculating based on what they hear, and who knows what to trust.

I just heard an interview with Greta VanSusteran and she says Brett wants to be released so he can negotiate with any team rather than be traded to a team that won't contend or play the Packers. To that I say, "duh". What business or sports team would trade their superstar to a team that could come back and beat them. Many companies even have "no compete" clauses in their contract. As a Packer Fan I don't want Brett Favre playing for anyone but us. I'd like them to invite him back to compete for a starting job and if he is the best then he starts. But I also understand completely that they're not going to release him to come back and beat them.

Just as I was angry with Holmgren for walking away on this franchise, I'm pissed at Brett for not getting his act together. I do feel badly that he put himself in this position, but deal old Greta has got it all wrong as a Packer fan. Because as a Packer fan it's not about Brett, it's about the team.

i don't have fox news. (weird, i know). will this interview be posted on their website?

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How the hell do you know what is Really Going On in politics then?

LOLOL Sorry.. Just kidding.

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doing an chaplaincy internship at a nursing home in Fargo for the summer, and am living (rent free) with my mother-in-law. She has dishnetwork basic. i also don't have FSN so i can't watch the twins, ever. but, free rent and i'm working so much i don't hardly get a chance to watch tv anyway. beggars can't be choosers.

The one question I wanted her to ask is if it was true that Favre decided to return at the end of March, only to change his mind again. I wanted to hear what he had to say. She said that wasn't discussed, How can you NOT ask that question?

you have to be incredibly stupid to be a scientologist, and greta sounded incredibly stupid in that interview. "I've heard a different story blablabla" but she couldn't tell anyone what that different story was... and then she had to run all of a sudden lol. Her arguments sucked.